China’s long-term strategy against the United States

By Printus LeBlanc

Introduction

Two world powers are on a collision course, the United States, and China. For now, the U.S. is the dominant world power, but China is fast approaching economic and military parity. That parity is more likely to bring the two nations closer to war, as the nation that once believed it was weaker sees itself as equal or stronger and is willing to challenge.

To get to the point where China has the capacity to challenge the U.S., the Communist regime has employed a total warfare strategy the likes of which the U.S. has never seen before. The U.S. was so unprepared for the type of warfare waged by China; it actually helped it achieve its current status.

A brief history lesson is needed to understand the state of mind the Chinese leaders are in. For centuries, China was the center of the civilization. While Europe was struggling in the dark ages, China was the pinnacle of civilization. China once held one-third of the world’s population, was the economic center, and technological marvel of the globe for much of the “pre-modern” era (Zhu, 2012). As Europe emerged from the dark ages, it first sought trade with China, then to challenge the middle kingdom for global dominance.

The western world was no match for China until the industrial revolution. The revolution brought Europe to a point it could now not only compete with but surpass China as a global power. The west first exerted power over China in the Opium Wars, mid-19th Century. When China lost the Opium Wars, it began a period in Chinese history known as the Century of Humiliation, to included the Japanese occupation.

The Century of Humiliation is taught extensively in Chinese schools and explored deeply in Chinese films and TV. The establishment of the Communist Party in 1949, led by Mao Zedong, ended the humiliation and began a new plan. That plan is called the Hundred Year Marathon.

According to Michael Pillsbury, author of Hundred Year Marathon, China has lulled America into a false sense of complacency, since 1949, using nine principles of Chinese strategy to achieve its goal of global hegemony.